Police Complaint Center

OCEANSIDE, Calif. --

Oceanside police are investigating what sparked an apparent road rage incident in a busy parking lot that ended with a woman and her son being shot by an off-duty San Diego police officer.

It happened Saturday night around 9:15 p.m. at a Lowe's Home Improvement store at 150 Old Grove Road in Oceanside.

Police have not said who they think was the aggressor in the incident, but they believe it started after one of the parties committed some sort of right-of-way violation in front of the parking lot. When it was over, the officer had fired two bullets through the windshield of a Honda. Inside were a woman and a child.

"We understand that there were several rounds fired from the off-duty police officer and that the occupants of the car, an adult female and a male juvenile, were injured as a result of the gunfire," said Sgt. Kelan Poorman of the Oceanside Police Department.

Both were flown to Sharp Memorial Hospital and Children's Hospital. Their injuries were described as non-life-threatening. Oceanside police said they believe the police officer's companion called 911 to report the incident.

"Right now, we've got statement from the son at this time. And we have the statement from the police officer. We're waiting to talk to the mother so we can put the pieces of the puzzle together, so we can come up with a logical conclusions as to what happened -- what transpired that evening," Poorman said.

The San Diego Police Department identified the officer involved in the shooting as Frank White, 28, of Oceanside. He has been put on administrative leave until until the investigation is complete. White joined the force in October 2005, police said.

The Oceanside Police Department is handling the case. Neither department said they would comment on the shooting until the investigation is complete.

Customers and employees of a nearby Starbucks were just 100 yards away. The shift manager said they were not aware of what happened.

"None of us heard (the gunshots) and then 10 minutes later there were cops everywhere," said Amanda McCauley.

Officers looked for witnesses in the coffee shop and the other stores in the mall, but few told police that they had seen or heard anything.

"The police were just investigating our store, coming in our bathroom, checking the Dumpsters," McCauley said.

Anyone who witnessed the incident is asked to contact Oceanside police.